Aspiring real estate investors and industry veterans will begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack in 2014. As it is already evident, a solid educational background and the desire to pursue further real estate education will make this goal a reality. As soon as you stop learning in this industry, you start slipping. With the way business, technology and the U.S. real estate market is now evolving, there has likely never been a year like 2014 that will differentiate those that have the education and those that choose to go forward blindly.
So what types of real estate education courses will help you succeed in 2014?
1. Introductory Real Estate Investing Courses
Real estate investing can be very ‘easy’ for making money compared most other jobs out there, but there are many extremely expensive pitfalls awaiting those that don’t get a handle on the basics. Even savvy, experienced investors can benefit from getting back to the basics.
2. Local Real Estate Seminars
Local real estate investment seminars are a great way for new investors to get first hand info, which is also directly applicable to their local markets. Moreover, these events serve as a great way to network with local professionals. This provides you with a chance to connect with other locals in the same situation, which can be incredibly helpful over the mid to long term.
3. Local Real Estate Investor Meetings
Most counties throughout the U.S. have at least one regular monthly real estate investment club. The typical format normally incorporates both education from a speaker as well as time to network, meet local vendors and often trade investment opportunities and leads.
4. National Industry Conferences
There are many different options which fall into this basket each year. They may include anything from Realtor and mortgage events to home buyer and builder conventions, as well as marketing and technology summits. Each one can be a fantastic opportunity to network, learn new things, grow social media networks, travel and see new areas for potential investing.
5. Online Communities
Online communities have become one of the most popular resources for all types of real estate education. It’s seen as the free, fast and comfortable option for learning at home or whenever a few minutes can be squeezed in. Some of these resources, like blogs from industry pros, can be extremely valuable. Other online forums can sometimes do more harm than good, as investors really don’t know who they are getting advice from, how good or bad that advice is (until they test it live), the motivations of those posting, and it can take far longer to pick up anything resembling a practical strategy due to how fragmented it is.
6. Real Estate Coaching
Coaching is a great way for real estate investors and business owners of all levels to take their game up a notch. It provides expert insight, career and portfolio saving advice, accountability, motivational boosts and more.
7. Daily Learning
Learning is a part of every super successful investor’s daily routine. For some, it may just be getting up to read the paper before anyone else is awake. For others, it is signing up to blog feeds and Google alerts to stay on top of developments and trends. For others, reading books on lunch breaks is the preferred method.
8. Expanding on Specialized Knowledge
Whether real estate investors aspire to expand their businesses into new services or not, it can be extremely powerful to dive into courses that provide in depth training. This is particularly beneficial to those working in a niche market.
